Three Shire Heads (also known as Three Shires Head) is the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

Axe Edge Moor Axe Edge Moor is the major moorland southwest of Buxton in the Peak District, England. It is mainly gritstone ( Namurian shale and sandstone). Its highest point () is at . This is slightly lower than Shining Tor (which is some to the northwe ...

where

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

and

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

meet, at UK

grid reference A projected coordinate systemalso called a projected coordinate reference system, planar coordinate system, or grid reference systemis a type of spatial reference system that represents locations on Earth using Cartesian coordinate system, Car ...

, or . It is on the

River Dane The River Dane is a tributary of the River Weaver that originates in the Peak District area of England. The name of the river (earlier ''Daven'') is probably from the Old Welsh ''dafn'', meaning a "drop or trickle", implying a slow-moving river. ...

, which marks the Cheshire border in this area. On the east of the river, the border between Staffordshire and Derbyshire runs north-east for about a mile to

Cheeks Hill Cheeks Hill is a hill on Axe Edge Moor in the Peak District, England. It lies just south of the Cat and Fiddle Road near Buxton, and forms part of the border between Derbyshire and Staffordshire. The highest and most northerly point in Staffor ...

, on the higher regions of Axe Edge Moor. From Cheeks Hill the border runs south then east to the head of the River Dove. The main landmark is a

packhorse bridge A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses (horses loaded with sidebags or panniers) across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow (one horse wide) masonry arches, and has low Parapet#Bridg ...

. The bridge is Grade II-listed, and was probably constructed in the late 18th century.

Access

Access to Three Shire Heads is shared by motorcyclists, cyclists, riders on horseback and pedestrians. The route is often narrow and rocky with steep drop-offs and specially adapted motorcycles for greenlaning access the route regularly. There is no nearby parking provision.

Significance

In modern times, Three Shire Heads is a landmark on various walking routes in this part of the moorlands. The packhorse bridge and the waterfalls as the River Dane flows southwards are very picturesque, and frequently feature on calendars. A report shows that this moorland area is of interest for its population of moths and butterflies. The presence of the packhorse bridge shows the importance of this route for traders from nearby

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Barry Allen ** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...

and Hollinsclough to

Macclesfield Macclesfield () is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is sited on the River Bollin and the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east; the town lies south of Ma ...

. Silk was produced at Hollinsclough, and sent to the mills at Macclesfield. Coal was mined from about 1600 on Axe Edge.

Swimming

Three Shire Heads is well known for its free swimming, although the pools are cold. The depth varies depending on the time of year: the main pool can be up to deep.

References

External links

Derbyshire Curiosities website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Three Shire Heads Geography of Staffordshire Geography of Cheshire Geography of Derbyshire